Guidance

Civil Service Blood & Donation Network

Updated 23 June 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-staff-networks/civil-service-blood-donation-network

The Civil Service Blood & Donation Network (CSBD) is an employee-led network steered by an executive team and has teams in 20 different government departments! The network began in 2021 when NHS blood stocks were critically low exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic. As a response, the Cabinet Office launched a blood drive to raise awareness. Since then, the network has kept expanding and helps to coordinate departments to run events and encourage more colleagues to give blood as well as considering other donation types such as stem cell, organ, platelet and plasma donation.

1. Why it matters:

  • Each donation can save the lives of up to three people

  • Nearly a third of donations are used in surgery and emergencies, including childbirth. Blood or its components are also used to treat patients with medical conditions such as anaemia and blood disorders

  • The NHS needs:

   - Over 4,000 donations a day to meet hospital demand

   - Around 140,000 new donors a year to replace those who can no longer donate

   - 30,000 new donors with priority blood types such as O negative every year

  • Blood not suitable for transfusion can still benefit patients through development of treatments and therapies, research, and training.

2. Our Aims

Our vision is for the Civil Service to play an integral part in increasing and sustaining blood donations across the UK. 

Our aims are:

  1. To inform, educate and encourage civil servants to donate blood and other related products

  2. To build a network across government to run campaigns to achieve that end

Whilst blood donation is the primary aim of the network, we also promote donation of plasma and platelets, organs, and stem cells.

3. What we do

The network carries out activities such as:

  • Organising ‘What’s Your Blood Type’ events in offices around the country

  • Sharing stories of those who donate and have received donations

  • Spreading awareness and information through Teams-based and live events

  • Encouraging donors in target groups, often doing this through collaborating with other networks

  • Run summer and winter campaigns simultaneously across all departments

  • Monthly newsletters to our distribution list of over 400 Civil Servants

4. How the executive team can support you when joining

  • The central Executive Team will put you in touch with any existing volunteers in your department, and will share key messages, campaign ideas, templates, posters and resources to facilitate running a blood drive.

  • We are also available to speak at a meeting in your department and assist you with organising events.

5. How to join and contact us

If you have any questions, need more information, or would like to get involved with the network, please contact: jessica.persell@faststream.civilservice.gov.uk or fill out this form.

You can volunteer as much or as little of your time as you’d like! None of the work we do is possible without our volunteers.

6. Further Information

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